Sept. 10, 2008
Stephanie Schierholz/Grey Hautaluoma
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-4997/0668
stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov, grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov
June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
june.e.malone@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 08-228
NASA'S ARES I ROCKET PASSES REVIEW TO REACH CRITICAL MILESTONE
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- NASA has taken a major step toward building the
nation's next generation launch vehicle with Wednesday's successful
completion of the Ares I rocket preliminary design review.
Starting in 2015, the Ares I rocket will launch the Orion crew
exploration vehicle, its crew of four to six astronauts, and small
cargo payloads to the International Space Station. The rocket also
will be used for missions to explore the moon and beyond in the
coming decades.
The preliminary design review is the first such milestone in more than
35 years for a U.S. rocket that will carry astronauts into space. The
review was conducted at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala. It examined the current design for the Ares I launch
vehicle to assess that the planned technical approach will meet
NASA's requirements for the fully integrated vehicle. That ensures
all components of the vehicle and supporting systems are designed to
work together.
"This is a critical step for development of the Ares I rocket," said
Rick Gilbrech, associate administrator of the Exploration Systems
Mission Directorate in Washington. "Completing the preliminary design
review of the integrated vehicle demonstrates our engineering design
and development are on sound footing, and the Ares I design work is
taking us another step closer to building America's next mode of
space transportation."
The preliminary design review included more than 1,100 reviewers from
seven NASA field centers and multiple industry partners. The review
is the final step of this design process. Teams representing each
major part of the Ares I rocket -- the upper stage engine, first
stage and upper stage -- all have conducted similar reviews during
the past year.
The preliminary design review is one of a series of reviews that
occurs before actual flight hardware can be built. As the review
process progresses, more detailed parts of the vehicle design are
assessed to ensure the overall system can meet all NASA requirements
for safe and reliable flight. This process also identifies technical
and management challenges and addresses ways to reduce potential
risks as the project goes forward.
"Risk assessment is a very important part of the process," said Steve
Cook, manager of the Ares I rocket at Marshall. "It allows us to
identify issues that might impact the Ares I rocket. For example, we
identified thrust oscillation - vibration in the first stage - as a
risk. In response to this issue, we formed an engineering team. The
team conducted detailed analyses and reviewed previous test data, and
then recommended options to correct the problem."
"We intend to hold a limited follow-up review next summer to fully
incorporate the thrust oscillation recommendations into the stacked
vehicle design," Cook added. "Identifying risks that can impact the
project and resolving them is a necessary and vital part of the
development process."
With the completion of this review, each element of the Ares I rocket
will move to the detailed design phase. A critical design review will
mark the completion of the detailed design phase and allows for a
more thorough review of each system element to ensure the vehicle
design can achieve requirements of the Ares program.
This week, the J-2X engine will be the first Ares I element to kick
off the critical design review process. The engine will power the
Ares I upper stage to orbit after separation from the first stage.
"We're excited about getting into full system engine tests with the
new J-2X engine," Cook said. "This will be one of the safest, most
affordable and highest performing rocket engines ever built, and
testing is critical as we begin preparation for future flights."
Marshall manages the Ares projects and is responsible for design and
development of the Ares I rocket and Ares V heavy cargo launch
vehicle. NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston manages the
Constellation Program, which includes the Ares I rocket, the Ares V
vehicle, the Orion crew capsule and the Altair lunar lander. NASA's
Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for ground and launch
operations. The program also includes multiple project element teams
at NASA centers and contract organizations around the U.S.
For more information about the Ares rockets, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ares
For more information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/constellation
-end-